Planning to buy or rent a home in Chennai? A recent study by a web-based financial company Artha Yantra Corporation will come in handy. The report states that Chennai will be the third most expensive city in the country. The survey of 12 cities found that the prices of residential properties as well as rent per square feet have risen in Chennai. Compared to last year, residential property prices shot up by 9 per cent and rents rose by 3.1 per cent. Kolathur, Medavakkam and Perambur are the most affordable localities for renting a house. The most expensive locations for buying or renting houses are Adyar, Chetpet, Egmore, Kilpauk and Nungambakkam. The report estimates that it will take 5.8 years of savings for a middle-class family in Chennai (Rs 8 lakh to Rs 25 lakh) to generate the corpus for an initial down payment, assuming a savings rate of 10 per cent.With the demonetisation in effect, property prices are expected to crash but rentals are still seen to be on an increasing trend.

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